Mrs. Elisabeth Tankeu, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry.

On September 11-13, 2006, the African Union Commission convened, at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a meeting of a high-level Task Force to provide guidance for the development of a framework document for the establishment and operationalisation of Africa’s strategic partnerships with three emerging economic powers: China, India and Brazil. The members of the Task Force consisted of eminent African experts from both the private and public sectors, research institutes and development partner institutions, including the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The three-day meeting was chaired by Mrs. Elisabeth Tankeu, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, who delivered a welcoming speech on behalf of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E. Prof. Alpha Oumar Konaré. The resident Ambassadors of China, India and Brazil accredited to Ethiopia and the AU addressed the Task Force. All sessions of the meeting were held in plenaries, which featured presentations by resource persons and floor discussions.

THE MAIN ISSUES

The meeting featured presentations and discussions under the Africa-China, Africa-India and Africa-Brazil partnerships themes and raised the following main issues, among others:

• The desirability for a systematic assessment, effective and efficient use of Africa’s natural resources with a view to vigorously pursuing the continent’s industrialization process.
• The launch of new and/or framework to:
  • Enhance economic cooperation, trade and improved market access for Africa’s products
  • Boost agricultural productivity so as to promote food self-sufficiency
  • Strengthen Africa’s services sector and grow the role of the private sector
  • Develop Africa’s human resources
  • Promote capacity building, technology acquisition, as well as knowledge generation, sharing and application
  • Actively develop Africa’s energy resources
  • Step up research and development activities
  • Accelerate the development of infrastructure, which facilitates intra-African trade and economic development
  • Strengthen Socio-cultural exchanges
• The need for a pivotal role for the African Union and its NEPAD program, in the implementation of the emergent Strategic Partnership.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

After three days of intensive and engaging deliberations, the Task Force made the following recommendations:

• Africa’s relationship with the emerging powers should be that of true and equal partnerships of mutual trust and benefit, not that of donor and recipient.
• The approach to the partnership should be one of co-development that is human-centred and in which both parties agree to commit their resources and assets for common interests.
• Africa’s strategic partnership with the emerging powers should be consistent with the clearly articulated vision and development strategy of the AU as embodied in the Strategic Plan of the Commission and the NEPAD programme. The partnerships must provide answers to, inter alia, the following questions:
  • What does Africa want?
  • What is Africa offering and receiving, and on what conditions?
  • What are Africa’s priorities in the partnership?
• Africa must face the emerging powers as a united continent and strengthen its integration agenda.
  v The private sector should be a key actor in the strategic partnership. The development of its capacity for joint ventures with enterprises of the strategic partners should be accorded priority.
  v Africa’s priorities in the context of partnership should include:
  • Acceleration of industrialization
  • Infrastructure development
  • Agricultural development
  • Technology and knowledge development and acquisition
  • Human capital development
  • Enhancement of market access
  • Development of modern services sector

The immediate objective of the partnership is effective industrialization of the continent, the development of service industries, and the diversification of African economies. The partnership should harness the experiences and comparative advantages of the partners in achieving this objective.

• There is a need to incorporate an effective monitoring, evaluation and follow-up mechanism in the partnership framework
• Strategic partner countries must be sensitized with regard to the Strategic Plan of the Commission and relevant NEPAD documents. A media strategy and program of the image of Africa should be developed and marketed globally and especially in partner countries.
• Africa must make efforts to understand the cultures and values of the strategic partner countries and vice versa. A program of cultural exchange must be an integral element of the strategic partnership framework.

• Africa’s relationship with the emerging powers should be that of true and equal partnerships of mutual trust and benefit, not that of donor and recipient.

  A principle of subsidiarity and complementarity should underpin the building and implementation of the strategic partnerships. The African Union must play a coordinating and pivotal role in providing a strong multilateral framework that will guide the RECs and Member States in their engagement with emerging power countries. In this regard, the AU could be assisted by an Independent Task Force. The AU should mobilize adequate resources to support the design of the multilateral framework, and monitor and evaluate its implementation. Within the context of this responsibility, the AU should create mechanisms for determining and mapping Africa’s natural resources as well as scanning the global environment in order to take account of other new emerging economic powers in the management of the African strategy.
• The strategy of promoting regional growth poles that could serve as engines of growth with a view to employing it in the development of the partnership with emerging power countries should be actively explored.
• Africa should speed up the process of establishing the financial institutions provided for under Article 19 of the Constitutive Act in order to promote industrialization.
• In the development of a mechanism of strategic alliance, there is need to take stock of and evaluate the mechanisms on the ground.
• Steps should be taken towards the creation of an African mineral/commodity exchange, preferably at the continental level but if necessary also at the regional level.
• A determined effort should be made within the framework of the partnerships to ensure that mineral or agricultural commodities are not exported in their raw state from Africa. Instead, with the active participation of the African private sector, measures should be put in place to ensure that local value addition is generated in order to promote Africa’s participation at higher levels of the value chain. To this end, industrial mergers should be encouraged to strengthen Africa’s participation in the global economy. The principle of partnership should, as a priority, encourage extensive use of Africa’s natural resources in the continent’s industrialization.
• Steps should be taken to support a Forum of African Industrialists on an Agenda to be defined by the Industrialists themselves, with a view to securing and encouraging their role in all aspects of the development of the partnerships.
  v The AU should ensure a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accessible, Realistic and Time-bound) approach in the implementation of the African Strategy towards the emerging powers.

• Africa must face the emerging powers as a united continent and strengthen its integration agenda.

  Attention will need to be paid to the development of appropriate macro economic and regulatory frameworks for the maximization of Africa’s benefits from the partnership. This should be complemented with effective consultations and involvement of all stakeholders in order to ensure good and participatory governance.
• Investments should be made to deepen reflections on the partnership framework and implementation plan by involving African knowledge networks and relevant development partners including the UN system.
• To achieve full implementation of the above recommendations, Africa must continue the promotion of peace, security, stability and good governance on the continent.